Satire & Snark OR Speech Seasoned with Salt?

Should Christians Be reading the Babylon Bee? When I was asked about writing an article on this subject, it got me thinking about what we are entertaining ourselves with. I confess, like many others, I have been reading it. But is #FakeNews an appropriate form of Christian entertainment? What about Christian comedians who earn a living by making fun of people? Or angry watchbloggers? How about YouTube videos where Christians mock each other for laughs? Social media, Mainstream media and now even Christian media, are all full of people bashing Christians for entertainment. In a world so desperately in need of the truth, isn't it a sin to give them fake news? What do unbelievers think of our so-called "Christian" comedy, slamming each other for cheap laughs?

Sarcasm is not a spiritual gift. When more zingers and burns than Scripture are being presented online, we've got a problem. There is no holiness in hatefulness. The Bible teaches us that the power of life and death are in the tongue. Our words can be life-giving and encouraging as we share the good news of Christ, or they can be destructive and hurtful and drive people away from God. Are we building up or tearing down with what we write and say? To start with, let's look at a few Scriptures that directly address the way we communicate.

Are sarcasm, satire and scathing prose alright?

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. -Ephesians 5:4

The original Greek word for filthiness refers to language that is dirty OR dishonoring. It refers to mocking in a way that is contemptful, looking down on others. Foolish talk directly refers to calling someone out or offering advice in a way that is foolish, like trash talking. This includes dealing with serious issues in a flippant or devil-may-care way. Using insider jargon or jokes or speaking in a way that is unclear or could mislead an unbeliever or someone who isn't "in the know" is forbidden. In other words, SATIRE, is not appropriate for Christians. The word crude joking, or jesting, refers to using the well-turned phrase or clever language to tease or joke and it specifically refers to being facetious or SARCASTIC as wrong. 

Proverbs 26:18-26 give us more insight into this issue:

18-Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "Was I not joking?"

Those who deceive and present blatantly false information disguised as jokes are called "madmen." Picture their words like a flaming arrow with a chain attached to it that binds up the reader and you will have a good understanding of what the Bible is saying here. The rest of the proverb uses words that describe rolling over another person with bullying gossip, and whisperers, who stir up trouble and will not allow peace to come. Then the passage continues:

A hateful person disguises himself with his speech and harbors deceit within. When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, For there are seven abominations in his heart..

I was asked if there was something demonic behind this type of speech. I believe it does hide something dark. The term 7 abominations, refers to 7 unclean spirits, so Yes, there is spiritual darkness behind this type of communication.

Jeremiah 9:3-5 could be used to describe the world we live in today, as much as it does the ancient world:

They bend their tongues like their bows. Lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land for they proceed from one evil to another and they do not take me into account. This is the Lord’s declaration. Everyone has to be on guard against his friend. Don’t trust any brother for every brother will certainly deceive and every friend spread slander. Each one betray’s his friend, no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies, they wear themselves out doing wrong. You live in a world of deception. In their deception they refuse to know me. This is the Lord’s declaration.

John 8:44 says that there is no truth in Satan and that When he lies he speaks his native language for he is a liar and the father of all lies. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, not of error. Any communication, spoken or written, that is not clear Truth is not of God, but is of the devil.

How Then, Should Christians Communicate?

Ephesians 4:29 instructs us:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Other translations say to let no unwholesome talk be spoken and emphasize saying the right thing in the right way in the moment. To edify, means to build up, not tear down. Verse 31 tells us to put evil speaking or blasphemia away from us. This includes language that is railing or that is impious or disrespectful toward God's majesty. 1 Peter 4:11 tells us that anyone who has a gift for speaking or communication should act as if they are speaking the very words of God, meaning that we do so reverently and in a way that serves others. That is what minister means, to serve others.

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 3:15

Speaking with gentleness and respect shows humility and reverence for God and human beings created in His image. Ranting, raving, railing and irreverent communication is rotten to the core. It does not minister grace, but instead causes people to bristle, provokes them to fight back, makes them dig in, harden their hearts and become even more set in their ways. It is unworthy of the Message of the Good News about Jesus Christ to speak that way. We are SHARING the Hope within us. There is a complete void of hope present in many of the satirical websites, snarky YouTube videos, angry rantblogs and comedy shows which are only Christian in the sense that their topics are restricted to making fun of things Christians do.

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:5-6

We need to remember those we are called to serve. Salt purifies. All of our communication, whether online or in person should be purified. It should be full of truth with the errors carefully filtered out. Our writings, sermons and other contributions should be well thought out, well-prepared and designed to minister.

Here are some guidelines for filtering our communication:

Be Careful What You Consume

A good friend of mine used to say "Garbage In, Garbage Out." Luke 6:45 teaches: A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. With our online activities are we filling up to build our faith, or are we eating a steady diet of pork rinds and poison? We need to be careful what we fill our hearts with.

Sharing Isn't Always Caring

Stop. Is that post you are about to share going to build up or tear down the Body of Christ, the Church?

Think Before You Laugh

I have learned to discipline myself not to laugh when jokes are inappropriate. Obviously we shouldn't laugh at dirty jokes. But what about jokes at the expense of someone's spouse or children? Or Memes mocking Millenials? I LOVE to laugh. It is good for us and joyful. But if our laughter comes at someone else's expense, or is irreverent toward God, it is sin.

How Do We Judge? What SHOULD We Post?

Philippians 4:8 provides us with the standard:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable (of good report or good reputation), if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Think about THESE things. Dwell on them. Blog, Post, Comment on, ReTweet and Share THESE things. I am constantly encouraged by the original, personal or heartfelt things my own friends post. Whether it is a timely Bible verse, a much needed correction or concern, a prayer request, blog post, meaningful song, or lengthy personal thought, I really appreciate them. Keep it up. Teach. Flood the world with Truth. Wipe out the lies with the Floodlight of Truth and Hope we've found in Jesus.

Why Do We Ask Jesus To Come Into Our Hearts?

Paul prayed that Christ would dwell in our hearts through faith. Yet, there are many who mock and scorn the idea of asking Jesus to come into our hearts. I understand why the world derides us, that is to be expected, but when the ridicule comes from within the walls of the church it is necessary to stand up and say something. It is time to silence the scoffing and explain why this is such an important foundation of our faith. Ephesians 3:16-17 asks:

I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

By Faith means that in order for Jesus to live in our hearts, we must place our trust and hope in Him and believe that He is God's Son, that He died for our sins and resurrected and we trust that He will forgive us. We have to believe His promise in order to receive it.

John 14 and 15 record Jesus comforting the disciples because He is going to have to leave them, but He promises to send His Spirit to take His place. He teaches them about God living with us and in us through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us guidance, comfort and peace. Jesus tells his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled, then describes the Holy Spirit as a helper, and Spirit of Truth. He then explains that

You know him because he abides with you and will be in you....In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me and I in you....If anyone loves me, He will keep my word; and My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him.

Jesus continues on to promise to send the Holy Spirit in HIS name to teach us and He blesses us with the kind of peace that only comes from Him living with us, in our hearts. 2 Corinthians 1:22 describes God as the one:

Who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

He gives His Spirit in our hearts as a testimony so that we know His promises are true. So, is it Biblical to ASK or INVITE Him to come into our hearts? Revelation 3:20 answers:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. IF anyone hears my voice and opens the door, THEN I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

We have to open the door. We have to invite Jesus to come in. Just like He earnestly desired to eat the Passover meal with His disciples, He earnestly desires to have fellowship with us. But we need to welcome Him into our lives. Hebrews keeps repeating the phrase:

As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." (Hebrews 3:15)

Don't harden your heart and ignore the voice of God calling you. Open up, ask Him to come in, invite Him into your life. Experience a renewed heart.

In Ezekiel 36:26, God promises:

 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

The word new is chadash in Hebrew. As a verb it means to repair or renew. In this use as an adjective, it means that God will give us a heart that has been repaired and made like new. Think of a surgeon repairing clogged arteries, operating on a fatty heart after a heart attack. God will repair our hurting, hardened and broken soul and make it like new through His Spirit at work in our lives. 

Romans 8:9 and Philippians 1:19 talk about the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus being actively involved in the lives of believers.

Is it Biblical to ask Jesus to come into your heart? Absolutely Yes. Romans 10:13 assures us:

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

To call upon the name of the Lord, epikaleomai onoma, means to ASK, to appeal, to humble oneself, repent and call out for help. We have to confess that we are sinners, desperately in need of salvation. It means to receive Jesus into our lives, asking to be called by his name, crying out for Him. How do we communicate with God? Through Prayer. The word pray means to ask. When we ask Him to come into our lives and receive Him as our salvation, His Spirit becomes our comforter, counselor, helper, guide and friend. I encourage you to Welcome Him into your life.

If you don't know what to pray, I suggest looking to the Psalms, a book of songs, many of which are sung prayers. The New Testament writers frequently quoted from Psalms and Paul encouraged us to sing and teach each other with them. Psalm 51 provides a great example of a prayer of repentance for salvation. I suggest reading the whole song. Here are some of the words of David from that Psalm to help you get started:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your faithful love,
According to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion
Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin............

You desire truth in the inner being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart (deep within)
Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean
Wash me and I will be whiter than snow...

Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me.

Becoming a Christ-Follower (or not) is a serious decision that we all have to make. When we accept Christ, we are Baptized to let the world know we have made the choice and we are His. God seeks us first. He calls, but we must answer. He knocks, but we must let Him in. He offers His covenant, but holds us accountable for our decision to accept or reject it. And that is why we ask Jesus to come into our hearts. Growing up in a Baptist church, we always ended our services by singing a hymn of invitation, often it was The Savior Is Waiting which teaches this truth so well:

The Savior is waiting to enter your heart
Why don't you let Him come in
There's nothing in this world to keep you apart
What is your answer to Him?

Time after time, He has waited before
And now He is waiting again
To see if you're willing to open the door
Oh, how He wants to come in

If you'll take one step toward the Savior, my friend
You'll find His arms open wide
Receive Him and all of your darkness will end
Within your heart He'll abide

Psalm 147:3 tells us that He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. God redeems broken lives. He forgives our sins, eases our pain, sweetens the bitterness that hardens us up and He heals broken hearts. And He doesn't just heal us. He fills us with joy, peace and a calm assurance that we are His well-loved children. Will you receive this gift? Will you ask Jesus to come into your heart?
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Scripture tells us that everyone who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Here is the link to a related article I wrote on what it means to call upon the name of the Lord:
http://thetrustworthyword.blogspot.com/2017/09/we-cry-out-what-does-it-mean-to-call.html

SHOW-ME...WORSHIP

For too many years, any expression of worship other than singing, such as clapping, raising hands, shouting to God and especially, wait for it.........Dancing, has been taboo in many churches, viewed by some as being too Charismatic or Pentecostal or something only "Holy Rollers" do. The Truth is that these are the normal Biblical expressions of worship for all Christians. Before we examine key texts that teach us to worship this way, let's think for a minute about why we worship.

I grew up in Missouri and I'm Baptist, which means that if you want me to believe something, you have to SHOW-ME. We live in a world full of people who are waiting for Christians to SHOW them what God is like and who He is. They need to see our Worship Expressed. We worship to proclaim God's goodness, to declare His power, to cry out for help, to thank Him for His mercy and blessings, to shout in acclamation, to tell what He has done and to teach others. Praise is how we SHOW the world what God is like. Worship is how we SHOW God our deep and heartfelt love and gratefulness. I agree with the definition that Worship is Love Expressed...and even more. Worship is Honor Expressed and Awe Expressed and Wonder and Joy and Repentance and Hope Expressed. 

One of the Hebrew words for praise is HALLELUJAH. Halal to Yahweh. Literally, it could be interpreted "Fool for God," or sometimes "to be clamorously foolish in praise." This does not mean to act silly and draw attention to oneself. It means that we are willing to be made to look foolish, so that God's name can be honored. We would rather be embarrassed and have our name mocked than to see God's name besmirched. His glory, His honor, His praise and His great name are more important than our own. Like John the Baptist realized, we must become less, so he can become more. We must humble ourselves because true worship is an act of humility. Jesus was sacrificed once for all. The only sacrifice that remains for us is to offer up the sacrifice of praise for what He has done.

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. -Hebrews 13:15


Let's take a look at these 4, often neglected, Biblical Expressions of Worship:

CLAPPING
We clap for everything from concerts to competitions to ceremonies. We clap to show enthusiasm and approval. We clap to give encouragement and support. Yet, we hesitate to do it in church sometimes. Isn't God more worthy than any worldly event, hero, or superstar idol? When we clap as part of our praise in church, we show enthusiasm for God, show support for the teaching in the music and show solidarity as we give encouragement to the body of Christ. Clapping in rhythm with the music is a normal part of worship expression. Applause is a Biblical way of honoring God and showing our hearty agreement and approval of the Gospel message being presented.

Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! -Psalm 47:1

RAISING HANDS IN WORSHIP
Two Hands raised up palm out is a universal sign of victory and also of surrender, how interesting. We don't hesitate to raise our hands after a touchdown or a trophy. Why not raise them to honor Jesus' victory over death, hell and the grave? Or to surrender to Him? We salute officers and those of high status. Why not salute the King of Kings with a raised hand? Reaching out a hand for help or reaching up in need are also well-recognized signs of dependence and humility. This is why we open hands, palm up, in surrender and submission as we lift our praises up to God, prepare to receive what He has for us and humbly offer ourselves to Him.

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. -Psalm 134:2

Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension. -1 Timothy 2:8

Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. -Psalm 28:2

DANCING

I will never forget the first time I heard Scripture about Dancing being proudly proclaimed by the Right Reverend.....Ren McCormack, aka Kevin Bacon. If the movie Footloose is the only time we hear Bible verses about dancing as a form of celebration or worship, then we have a real problem. Biblical, Worshipful dance will look very different from secular dance. It won't be sensual, dirty, sexual, suggestive or offensive. What it will look like is the pure expression of unrestrained joy. Have you ever just jumped for joy, or couldn't keep your feet from moving with a driving beat or felt a surge of happiness thinking about how good God is that required a physical response? One example of the type of Biblical dancing I'm talking about is what one might see at a Messianic service, where the women dance traditional dances with tambourine in hand. It is pure celebratory dance designed to honor God. One of my favorite moments in worship was Christmas a few years ago, when the children at NRHBC came into the sanctuary skipping and leaping and dancing while carrying colorful streamers and singing. It was the highlight of the evening and yes, that is what Biblical dancing looks like. This is the type of dance we find in Scripture, though it does not have to be choreographed.

Psalm 150:1 begins by telling us to Praise the LORD in His sanctuary. It then provides us with an incredible variety of instruments, ways and reasons to worship Him including:

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing -Psalm 150:4

Other Examples Include:

Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. And Miriam answered to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously... -Exodus 15:20-21

David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, wearing a linen ephod (a priestly garment) So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn. 2 Samuel 6:15

Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. -Psalm 149:2-4

SHOUTING
When I think about shouting God's praises, I picture the nation of Israel, gathered in Jerusalem, perhaps at a time of festival, around the temple, all shouting in unison, praising God with shouts of acclamation. I'm not sure if they always did that, but they were definitely meant to...and so are we. I would suggest we could do it like a call and response---not like a monotone responsive reading...but shouts of loud praise and declaration. Ezra 3:10-13 records the laying of the foundation to rebuild the temple. The priests would lead and the people would answer back: And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, "For He is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel," and all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord......and the sound was heard far away.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth into joyous song and sing praises. -Psalm 98:4

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart. -Psalm 32:11

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; And my soul, which You have redeemed. -Psalm 71:23

Conclusion
You probably noticed how many of the verses above reference SINGING. What it all boils down to is this: We are meant to worship with passion. We Sing...and we clap. We sing...and we shout. We sing...and we dance. We Sing...and we lift our hands. The postures of worship are a topic unto themselves, but whether we stand, kneel, sit, bow or prostrate ourselves on our faces before God, the point is that we are meant to be passionate. We are meant to sing whole-heartedly and expressively.

The Hebrew word for the human body means to SHOW FORTH. The same word, used in a different way is the word for the Gospel, which also means to SHOW FORTH. We are meant to SHOW God what He means to us and to SHOW the world what God is like and who He is through our lives and through our Worship. We are a living demonstration, a sacrifice of praise. We need to humble ourselves and SHOW WORSHIP.

Two Spirits: Who or What is the 2nd Spirit and Where Does It Come From?

Update: Nearly 6 years ago, when I write this article, the phenomenon of individuals identifying as "Two Spirits" was relatively isolated to Canada. Now, it has hit the mainstream here in the United States as well with addition of LGBTQ2S or other such labeling gaining popularity. 

Native American and First Nations peoples have begun referring to some LGBTQ persons using the term Two Spirits, a historical term which stems from the belief that such individuals possess both male and female spirits. In Canada, they have even adjusted to using LGBTTQ+ to describe Aboriginal people who identify as Two Spirits. It is remarkable to me that even these non-Christian belief systems have recognized an important spiritual truth. As you might expect, the Bible has much to teach us on this subject and it is important information if we wish to understand how to minister to people who self-identify this way.

Today I was reading about the time that Paul encountered a young slave girl who possessed a spirit of divination which allowed her "owners" to make a lot of money from her fortune telling. There were 2 spirits in one body, one human spirit belonging to the owner, the other an intruder. He cast the unclean spirit out of her. 

Native Americans were certainly no strangers to the idea of spirits. In the same way that ancient Ba'al worshippers laced wine with drugs in order to get high and have visions and communicate with their pagan gods, some Native American tribes used sweat lodges or Peyote to get high or go into a trance and communicate with their spirit guides. It is being claimed that some of the Two Spirits were Shaman and Medicine Men and that their tribes believed them to possess special wisdom because of the two spirits inside them, much the same way that the fortune teller girl Paul encountered seemed to have secret knowledge that others desired.

In John 4, we learn to be careful and discerning concerning spirits. Verse 1 warns us:

Dear Friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God.

Many of you might remember the song we sang growing up in church "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the World." This comes from verse 5 which helps us understand that Christians are under the influence of the Holy Spirit inside of us and unbelievers are under the influence of Satan. There is a war going on for the hearts and minds of people and the role of every Christian is to protect them from harmful spiritual influences. The cruelest, most uncaring and unfeeling action a Christian can take is NO action when we encounter people who have been deceived by Satan, or even worse, to affirm and encourage them to continue in that deception. This verse actually tells us that we can overcome such spirits:

You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

One result of the 1st Jerusalem council in Acts 15 was that the Holy Spirit and the Apostles affirmed the Biblical definition of sexual sin and required both Jewish and Gentile believers to abstain from sexual immorality. John, one of the apostles, writes the following statement in verse 6 of John Chapter 4 which we have been looking at:

We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Deception.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Satan and his spirits, which we understand to be fallen angels or demons, are the spirits of deception. As a matter of fact, John also provides a description of this deception in John 8:44:

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.



The most powerful tool in Satan's belt is his ability to deceive. He is a liar and a mocker and relentlessly endeavors to make fools out of people. When he can convince a man to think he is a woman, or a woman to think she is a man, or if he can twist a person's desires against God's will for them, he controls that person.

James, the brother of Jesus, describes the plight of a person who has not placed their faith in God. In James 1:8, He explains:

Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

In the original Greek language, the term double-minded describes someone who has 2 psyches at war within them. Sounds a lot like Two Spirits doesn't it? The word unstable specifically refers to someone torn between who will be in charge of them, who will be their ruler, in this case whether it will be God or Satan.

All of us were, at one time, deceived and disobedient to God before we came to faith. Paul explains this in chapter 2:1-5 of the letter to the Ephesians:

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

Satan is at work, relentlessly tempting, manipulating and lying to the minds of people. Any spirit that disagrees with God's Word, the Bible, is a spirit of deception. God's word says that He created us as male and female and that the only type of sexual activity that is acceptable is between one man and one woman inside of the covenant relationship of marriage. 

The only way to defeat a spirit of deception is with the Truth. Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me. The way to kick any spirit that is deceiving you out of your life is to invite Jesus in. You need to end the war and make the choice. Which spirit will guide you, the Spirit of Truth? Or the spirit of deception?

Here are 3 Steps to escape from the devil's web of lies and get free:

1. Admit you were wrong. Yes, I know, this is the hard part. We all need to come to the point in our lives where we humble ourselves and agree with God's word that our sin is wrong. This is called repentance. We change our minds, disagree with the deceiver and agree with God.

2. Accept the truth about Jesus. Agree with God's word that Jesus died for our sins and rose again so that we could be saved and so that we could have His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, in our lives.

3. Ask Jesus to come into your life, to forgive you of your sins, to fill the emptiness with His life-giving Spirit, to be your Guide. Accept Him as your Savior. End the war for your heart and mind by making the choice. Let God be in charge, make Him the ruler of your heart and He will set you free. To live in deception is to be in bondage and slavery to sin. To live in the Truth is to be set free. 2 Corinthians 3:17 delivers the Truth of God's promise to us:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

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If you are interested in learning more of what the Bible teaches about human sexuality from the One who designed and created our bodies and invented sexuality, you can read about it here:


http://thetrustworthyword.blogspot.com/2016/04/identity-crisis-created-in-image-of-god.html

Second Chances

Giving a person one chance is not really giving them any chance at all. Whether it's teaching, singing, playing an instrument or whatever, everyone is super nervous the first time and you will never, ever get a valid assessment of someone's ability by giving them just one chance, and all real teachers and leaders know that.

Remember the time Paul and Barnabas got into a huge fight and parted ways over John Mark because Paul refused to give him a 2nd chance? In Acts 13:13 and 15:36-41, we learn that John Mark had walked away from them on a previous mission trip and had not finished the work, but went back home to Jerusalem. Perhaps he was afraid after the encounter with the sorcerer on Paphos? Maybe he had just been away from home for a long time because of the persecution going on in Jerusalem and grew weary and homesick? It is, of course, possible that God called him to return to Jerusalem and he was being obedient, even brave, to go back. We aren't told the reason for his departure. But Paul had given up on Mark and refused to allow the young disciple to rejoin him on his missionary journeys. Barnabas, son of encouragement, gave Mark another chance and took him along on his ministry travels. This time, the young man proved himself to be reliable and well capable of the work.

Ultimately, Mark wrote one of the 4 Gospels. John Mark was a very observant young main with a kean eye for detail and an excellent memory. The types of small and interesting details that are the hallmarks of his Gospel prove the authenticity of his eye-witness account. I suspect that Mark was probably one source of information and influence on Luke the historian as he wrote the book of Acts, also including such details that only an eye-witness could provide. Eventually, Paul realized he was wrong about him saying:

"Get Mark and bring him with you for he is very useful to me for ministry."  -2 Timothy 4:11

If you aren't interested in giving people 2nd chances, you really aren't interested in people at all, and you aren't a leader. Real leaders are disciple makers who develop people.